Complexity

Complexity

Without rigorous care and attention software quickly becomes messy and unmanageable. Even with the best intentions entropy and complexity are a fact of life in growing applications. As in many other contexts it is easier to tackle the symptoms than the cause. Systems Thinking calls this behaviour "Shifting the Burden" and it is more widespread than you might think. From your IDE to your automated build, from ACLs to TDD, from backlogs to burn-ups, we are surrounded by props for coping with complexity. As appealing as these are, they also make us less likely to address the underlying problem of complexity itself. Dan believes you can learn to recognise these coping mechanisms for what they are, and intends to set you on the path to simplicating your programming life.